Vice President, Head of Demand-Driven Business Planning, Extended Supply Chain Management
Martin Barkman is a vice president in SAP’s Extended Supply Chain Management organization where he has global responsibility for solutions that enable demand-driven business planning. In this role, Martin works closely with customers to elevate supply chain capabilities in the area of sales, inventory, and operations planning, demand management, and demand networks. Prior to joining SAP, Martin was the CEO of SmartOps Corporation, which SAP acquired in April, 2013. SmartOps was a leading supply chain software company with a focus on inventory optimization and demand sensing solutions.
Martin became President and CEO of SmartOps in January 2012 after serving SmartOps through diverse operating roles of increasing responsibility since early 2001. Prior to 2012, he was Executive Vice President of Global Operations where he led worldwide sales, sales consulting, marketing, alliances, professional services, and account services. SmartOps was founded in 2001 and was backed by the venture capital firm Adams Capital Management.
Martin earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering with Distinction from Cornell University and later his MBA in Finance as a Palmer Scholar from the Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. Prior to SmartOps, Martin developed a broad supply chain technology and management experience through roles ranging from consulting at McKinsey & Company to product supply and manufacturing management at Procter & Gamble.

Daniel Bender is Chief Solution Owner – R&D/PLM with SAP, with a primary responsibility for SAP’s PLM Solutions for Process Industries. Dan joined SAP in 2002 and has held a number of positions within the SAP Solution Management and SAP Consulting Services. Dan started working with SAP PLM Solutions in 1994 as a member of the SAP implementation effort at Moen Inc. Dan has worked with a number of SAP technologies including Quality Management, Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Logistics including activities to support customers in both Process and Discrete Industries. Dan lives with his family in Cleveland, OH. USA

Nico Bonthuys, director of the Linx/AS product lifecycle management consulting practice, brings over 25 years of industry experience and thought leadership to the PLM space. His insight into the business processes that drive product development and manufacturing have helped businesses across industry verticals streamline innovation-to-market processes and unify product data systems. Nico’s experience with SAP reaches back to SAP R/2 and his knowledge of SAP PLM functional enablers, such as Recipe Development, PPM, Specification Management, DMS, Workflow, Packaging Engineering, Artwork/Graphic Development, has been instrumental in designing PLM solutions for companies to maximize their investment in SAP.

Tom Cassell is a Vice President at Capgemini and serves as lead for its SAP SCM practice. He has more than 16 years of supply chain consulting experience with firms such as IBM and SAP, and has held various leadership positions on more than 20 SAP SCM implementations. Tom’s SAP functional areas of focus include APO DP, SNP, PP/DS and GATP; S&OP; and supply chain analytics.

Patrick Crampton-Thomas is VP Supply Chain Solution Management with SAP, with responsibility for SAP’s Response and Supply Orchestration Portfolio
Patrick joined SAP in 2005. He has held a number of regional and global roles responsible for Supply Chain Line of Business including Sales and Business Development before moving to Solution Management.
Prior to SAP Patrick worked at various companies including i2 Technologies, Oracle and SSA always with a focus on Supply Chain Management, helping companies achieve advanced supply chain initiatives
In Industry, Patrick started his career working for 3PL companies in warehousing and transportation operations gaining experience with companies like M&S and Hamleys Toys before moving into retail where he worked in Logistics operations for ASDA.
Patrick lives in the UK near London.

Sean Elliffe is an Associate Partner at Reveal USA responsible for driving the delivery of supply chain optimization/improvement programs across the globe. Sean has a mechanical engineering background and holds a Master’s degree (M-Phil Education and Training). He has more than 20 years of strategic business experience building situation-based interventions and solutions that drive business to achieve effective delivery, enhanced competitiveness, and improved business efficiency. He has spoken at International supply chain conferences in Europe, US, and South Africa. Sean has assisted clients in the US, UK, Europe, Australia, Pakistan, Trinidad and Tobago to achieve the adaptations needed to change the way they manage their supply chains. Some of these clients include BHP Billiton, Sulzer Metco, Tennant Company, Ryerson, Foundation Coal, Insight, Rust-Oleum, and Entegris.

Soumen is a Manager in Deloitte’s SAP consulting practice, based in Orange county, California. He has more than 15 years of consulting experience in SAP Supply Chain and Procurement. He has been part of many large scale SAP Business Transformation projects. Soumen’s functional areas of focus include SAP Procure to Pay, APO SNP, SAP SRM and Ariba. He is currently leading an Ariba integration project for a large power and utility company in North America.

Claudio Gonzalez is a Principal Solution Architect with SCM Connections and responsible for their Global SAP SCM Offering. Claudio has completed 5 full implementations with multiple roll outs worldwide. He has Fortune 500 experience in the following industries, Consumer, Automobile and Pharmaceuticals. Claudio's SAP functional areas of focus are in the sector of: SCM SNP, SCM PP/DS and CIF.

Sridhar Gururaj is a Supply Chain Managing Consultant and the EHS resident expert in the Application Services division of HCL. He has a proven track record of providing thought leadership to premium companies in the Manufacturing and Life Sciences industries.
Sridhar has hands-on experience implementing SAP PLM & EHS at over 15 clients. His SAP functional areas of focus are: Product Safety, Sustainability, NPDI, Lifecycle Data Mgmt and Systems Integration.
In addition to his specialization, he carries a broad understanding of Supply Chain (APICS CPIM, 2007) and Project Management (PMI PMP, 2012).

Dr. Volker G. Hildebrand is Global Vice President of CRM Solution Management at SAP. Volker has global responsibility for SAP’s CRM solution portfolio -- including on-premise, cloud, social and mobile CRM applications. He has been with SAP for fourteen years, building momentum in CRM and E-Commerce in various roles and leadership positions in sales, marketing, product management, business development and solution management. Prior to joining SAP, Volker was an assistant professor for Marketing teaching graduate and post graduate business students and pioneering research in CRM. In addition he helped many companies drive CRM initiatives as a business consultant. A thought leader in CRM for two decades, Volker has written several books and has published over 100 articles. His most recent book, “The Customer Experience Edge”, was published in Q4/2011 by McGraw Hill. Volker holds a Masters degree in Business from the University of Mannheim, a BS in Business & Technology from the University of Stuttgart, and earned a Ph.D. in Business Economics with highest honor (summa cum laude).

Richard has been working in the supply chain management and manufacturing space for over 20 years and is responsible for driving the market direction and positioning of SAP’s Extended Supply Chain solution set. Prior to joining SAP in 2004, Richard spent 15 years with Marcam Solutions where he was VP of Marketing for the companies Process ERP solutions.
Richard has also implemented ERP and SCM systems at companies such as Nestle, Gillette, Colgate Palmolive, Rohm & Haas, Wyeth, Royal Worcester Spode and Dairy Crest.
Richard holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Mid Glamorgan in the UK.
Richard is also a regular contributor to www.forbes.com where you can read his blogs at http://blogs.forbes.com/people/richardhowells/

Richard Kirker is the Solution Owner for SAP Warehouse Management. He brings over 15 years of experience with SAP working in the consulting and solution management areas and has been involved with Extended Warehouse Management since its original launch. He has extensive experience working in various industries in procurement, production planning and logistics. He has a B.S. degree in economics and an MBA in finance.

Mike Lackey joined the SAP in 2008 through the acquisition of Visiprise and has global responsibility for Solution Management, LoB Manufacturing. With previous roles at Visiprise, NetVendor and Teradyne Manufacturing Software Group, Mr. Lackey has a unique set of knowledge that covers both manufacturing software and design collaboration along with over 20 years of experience in the high tech sector. Early in his career, he started as a manufacturing engineer with DCA/Attachmate, which provided him with invaluable first-hand knowledge and understanding of how SAP customers can use SAP’s Manufacturing Product Portfolio to improve their business. Mr. Lackey earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and an MA in Business Administration from Mercer University with dual concentrations in International Business and Marketing.

Michael Lipton joined SAP in 1998. He is currently Senior Director of Supply Chain Solution Management in the area of Supply Chain Planning. In this role, he leads the Solution Area of Collaborative Response Management. Prior roles at SAP include Director for Serialization and RFID, and Director of Supply Chain Business Consulting. Michael has over 30 years of experience in supply chain management consulting and solutions development. Prior to SAP, he held leadership positions with leading supply chain management solution providers, including Skyva International and Gensym Corporation, and he was a founder and principal of the ITP Group, where he led product development in the area of supply chain and factory automation systems. Prior to ITP, Michael was in the high tech industry, in the areas of planning, manufacturing, and distribution. Michael holds a Master of Science degree in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from MIT.

Giovanni is a Management Consultant at Implement Consulting Group with focus on Procurement processes. He has over 7 years of experience as a functional expert with global SAP implementations across different industries. In addition, Giovanni has a broad managing consulting background, spanning from Process Analysis and Optimization to Change Management and from Training to Facilitation.

Michael Co-Leads the IoT GCO organization focused on Internet of Things and Network transformation. He joined SAP in late 2011 as part of the acquisition of Right Hemisphere Inc, where he held the position of CEO. He is a successful software executive who helped grow 7th Level from 20 employees to a Nasdaq IPO. Michael has produced over thirty award winning Internet, education, enterprise and entertainment software products for Learn2.com, Disney, Real Networks, IBM, Microsoft and Sony.
As CEO, Michael has transformed Right Hemisphere from a tools provider for graphics to the global leader in Enterprise Visualization software for Global 1000 manufacturers. Closed funding from Sequoia Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures, NVIDIA, and completed the sale to SAP in 2011. Michael attended the Manhattan School of Music where he studied Opera.

Alan Mendel is co-founder of LeverX and also supervises sales and marketing for the company. He is a recognized worldwide authority, author and frequent speaker on methodologies and technology solutions for product lifecycle management (PLM) throughout the extended enterprise and supply chain. Alan has consulted internationally with organizations from many industries and solution / technology suppliers on the development, use, implementation, and market for solutions to address the product lifecycle. He has assisted SAP since the mid-1990's in the specification, development and worldwide launch of the SAP PDM and PLM programs, and has also worked with many international manufacturers to evaluate and deploy SAP solutions.

Rajesh Mendonca, author of EWM best-seller “Fundamentals Of SCM-EWM: A Step-by-Step Guide" is EWM Practice Director at Almasons Consulting LLC. He brings more than 16 years of SAP experience in the areas of Supply Chain Management specializing in RF solutions, voice picking and warehousing automation. At Almasons, he has formed a specialized and dedicated team which is highly focused on EWM implementations, RF deployment, voice picking, and building custom solutions. He is also the architect of "EWM Made Easy" series of solutions, which will be available at the SAP store for EWM customers.

Dominik Metzger is a Solution Principal in the Transportation and Logistics Industry. He is in charge of leading the Go-To Market activities for Westernacher in Asia Pacific and Japan. Before joining Westernacher, Dominik had been with SAP for almost 7 years. He had hands-on roles as a consultant and solution architect in major implementation projects of SAP Transportation Management across regions. Dominik is highly specialized in the freight forwarding, trucking, ocean liner and contract logistics industry. He offers both a very strong functional SAP background and a deep know-how in a multitude of end-to-end business processes.

Garrett leads SAP’s R&D / Engineering Solution Management organization and portfolio. In this capacity, he has global responsibility for solutions that enable R&D / Engineering professionals to scale their innovations across internal and external product networks. Prior to joining SAP, Garrett worked in management consulting helping global corporations solve operational and financial business challenges. Immediately before his tenure with SAP, Garrett helped lead and found a successful Silicon Valley start-up focused on workplace sustainability. Finally, in a previous life, he worked in the environmental/chemical engineering fields on sustainable development, pollution abatement, and contaminant transport issues. Garrett holds a bachelor’s degree in Geology from Pomona College and master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Yale University.

Thomas Ohnemus is Vice President of Idea to Performance, integrated SAP solutions for R&D, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Enterprise Asset Management, Supply Chain Management, and Business Services (covering industries, EC&O, Travel & Transportation, Professional Services, Sports & Entertainment, and Media).
He is responsible for driving the go-to-market strategy, messaging, and demand generation. Thomas has over 25 years’ experience in business software solutions and his PLM expertise has awarded him key management positions in consulting, product management, service, and global marketing. He holds a master’s degree in engineering, and lives and works in Germany.

Gianni Pelizzo is the Managing Director at Espedia. He has 10 years of experience as leader in the business developing of SAP PLM/PPM projects. Espedia's SAP functional areas of focus are: SAP PLM, PPM, and EHS. Especially present in manufacturing, CPG, and fashion, Espedia has gained significant experience and references on SAP PLM in the areas of engineering & construction (management contract), automotive, electronic & high tech, fashion and medical devices, with important projects both in Italy and abroad.

Edward Pettit is a Manager in the Advisory Services practice of Ernst & Young LLP. He has 10 years of IT experience with 9 years focused directly on SAP Supply Chain Execution. Edward provides leadership and expertise around SAP Supply Chain functions with a strong focus on SAP Warehouse Management and Extended Warehouse Management. Edward has delivered SAP WM and EWM solutions and assessments to dozens of warehouses. He also has knowledge across multiple industries such as Life Sciences, Consumer Products, and A&D.

Frank Platt is a Senior Director for SAP in the solutions area: Line of Business – Manufacturing. He joined SAP in 2005 as a part of the acquisition of Lighthammer, where he served as VP Sales and Marketing from its’ inception. Prior to Lighthammer, Frank served in Sales, Marketing and Management roles for a number of leading plant automation solution providers, including ABB, Bailey Controls and Leeds and Northrup. He has deep background in sensors, controls, process automation, and enterprise software. His current activities support the SAP Manufacturing strategy across the globe, with a focus on the SAP MII solution.

Markus Rosemann is Vice President Line of Business Solution Management and Head of Supply Chain Execution at SAP AG. In this function, he has global responsibility for the SAP solution portfolio of Supply Chain Execution covering Warehouse Management, Transportation Management and Track & Trace. He is also chief Solution Owner for the strategic investment of Transportation & Logistics with responsibility for revenue attainment. Markus joined SAP in 1997 as trainer for warehouse management and logistics execution and has held various positions in product and solution management for SCM and Product Innovation.

Martin Rowan is a Senior Partner in Reveal and his primary focus is to facilitate solutions that help companies optimize their Integrated Supply Chains to achieve a level of Business Maturity and increase profitability. He is actively involved with local and international ERP market and has been for over 20 years. His experience covers a wide variety of industries across multiple countries.
Martin speaks frequently at user group meetings and conferences typically on topics around the importance of an effective Supply Chain. For the last few years he has spoken in Spain, France, Germany, South Africa, Sweden, UK and USA.
Some clients he has represented across the globe are BMW, Toyota, General Motors, Mittal Steel, Sanyo, Insight and Asics. Martin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering and a Master’s degree in Commerce.

Sachin Shetty is a Senior Manager in the Advisory Services practice of Ernst & Young LLP. He has 16 years of experience in assisting clients with IT enabled business transformation initiatives. He has led and executed multiple full lifecycle SAP implementations with a focus on Demand Planning, Supply Planning, Order Fulfillment, Supply Chain Collaboration, Procurement & Sourcing, Sales & Operations Planning processes. He has worked with clients in Life Sciences, Consumer Goods, Retail, Manufacturing, Chemicals, High Tech and Aerospace industry

Eric Simonson is a Director of Solution Management at SAP Labs. His focus is within the Supply Chain Planning area with emphasis on Advanced Planning and Optimization (APO) and Enterprise Inventory Optimization (EIO). He was in consulting services for 5 years implementing APO with several clients, then moved to the pre-sales demo engineering team for an additional 4 years. Eric’s current role in Solution Management includes working with customers in many industries and the SAP field organization to bring the next generation of Supply Chain Planning solutions to the market.

Søren Skjødt is a Partner with Implement Consulting Group and part of their Planning Excellence service line. He has had leading roles in more than 50 supply chain management projects. His main focus areas are: Sales & Operations Planning and Operational Excellence and within SAP, his focus is SCM and ERP.
The ICG Planning Excellence team is one of the leading SCM-APO implementation partners in Northern Europe, delivering projects globally

Tod Stenger is a Solution Manager with SAP in the supply chain planning area and is responsible for solutions pertaining to Demand Management. He has 17 years of experience with SAP, including 8 years of implementing APO Demand and Supply Planning modules. His current focus is on helping SAP customers increase demand plan accuracy using multiple demand signals and both internal and external collaboration and he is the solution owner for Integrated Business Planning for demand.

Hans Thalbauer is the General Manager for Extended Supply Chain solutions at SAP. He is responsible for the strategic direction and the Go-To-Market of Supply Chain, Logistics, Engineering/R&D, Manufacturing, Asset Management and Sustainability solutions.
In this role, he is engaged in creative dialogue with numerous companies worldwide, addressing customer needs and introducing innovative business processes, including the vision of leveraging networks and the Internet of Things to reflect customer centricity and the speed needed in the Extended Supply Chain.
Hans is more than 15 years with SAP. He held positions in Development, Product and Solution Management. Hans holds a degree in Business Information Systems from the University Vienna, Austria.

Ganesh has over 17 years of experience in the areas of Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing and has worked with several global companies implementing solutions in these areas. He has held various roles in over his 8 year tenure at SAP and is is Vice President of Supply Chain Solutions. He has worked as Director of Corporate Development at Sterling Commerce (now an IBM company) and as a Solution Executive at i2 Technologies (now JDA Software Group). He has global responsibility for the solution strategy, roadmap and go-to-market initiatives for SAP’s Demand Network solution area. Ganesh has been with SAP for ten years and has two decades of experience working with global companies in the areas of Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing solutions.

Justin Weyand is a Principal Application Analyst at IDEXX Laboratories in Westbrook, Maine. He has been implementing SAP projects for 15 years in the areas of supply chain planning, finance, and HR. His most recent projects in 2012 have included implementing BPC 10.0 to support FP&A at IDEXX as well as a supply planning solution with SCM PP/DS.

Dave has over 20 years of experience implementing SAP solutions, with a strong combination of technical expertise with excellent business process knowledge and project management skills. More specifically, Dave has proven expertise in the design and implementation of SAP Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) solutions, with specific focus on Recipe Management/Recipe Development, Specification Management, Document Management, cProjects/cFolders and the various sub modules of SAP EHS.
In his leadership role at Linx/AS, Dave is responsible for the development of Linx/AS PLM and EHS Best Practices solutions, accelerators and implementation methodologies. His experience spans a wide variety of industries – food, beverage, consumer products, chemicals, pharmaceuticals – with companies ranging from small market to large global, Fortune 50 organizations.

James Wood, founder and principal of Bowdark Consulting, Inc., provides insight into what it takes to modernize your ABAP skills. An SAP Mentor and leading industry expert, James has deep experience in ABAP, Web Dynpro, SAP Process Integration, SAP Enterprise Portal, Java/J2EE, and object-oriented ABAP. James is on the cutting edge of SAP development with technologies such as SAPUI5 and SAP NetWeaver Gateway. He is the author of several best-selling books, including Object-Oriented Programming with ABAP Objects, ABAP Cookbook, Web Dynpro ABAP, and Getting Started with SAP HANA Cloud Platform. A development and technology enthusiast, James is a content advisor to the SAP Professional Journal knowledge base.